From Farm to Table: Getting Back To Basics
"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."
~ Julia Childs
Good food starts with nutrient dense ingredients. Make the most of your cooking and let fresh fruits and vegetables play a
starring role.
Farmers' Markets - It's market season!
The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use the Local Harvest website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass fed meats, raw goats milk, raw honey and more.
People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than
anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good
for your local economy--buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.
Goat's Milk The Better Choice
Buying Raw Goat Milk directly from the organic farmer: Why it's a Better Choice for You and Your Children: The Facts
Goats Milk is supplied from the farm directly to the consumer within 48 hours after milking, this ensures that the consumer has the freshest product possible. Freshness is associated with a higher level of the boiactive components naturally found in unpasteurized milk, and fresher, cleaner flavor.
By Contrast, mass produced dairy products are first shipped to a process, who then ships the milk to a wholesaler, who ships to a retailer. Milk purchased from the shelves of grocery stores may be 3-4 weeks old before it is consumed.
The US Government Accounting Office reports that more than 30% of commercial milk samples contain measurable level of contaminants, such as antibiotics residues and pesticides. Is this what you want your child to be drinking?
Raw Goat Milk Benefits
- goat milk is an alkalinizer of the system;
- pure and without drug residues;
- no antibiotics, growth hormones, BST, or other contaminates;
- organic farmers produce unprocessed goat milk in a way that preserves all the health-giving bioactive components nature meant you to have;
- goat in its natural state is like breast milk, contains powerful antibacterial components. It is the next best thing for babies.
- goat milk is easier to digest than cow milk;
- goat milk soothes the digestive tract
- goat milk is NOT denatured by high heat;
- goat milk a substitute for those who are lactose intolerant
- goat milk is non-allergenic;
- goat milk is a rich source of the trace mineral selenium and modulates the production of interleukin, both important components of the immune system;
- goat milk does not produce mucous
- goat milk contains twice the healthful medium chain fatty acids
- goat milk is higher in vitamin a, calcium, potassium and copper than cow milk;
- goat milk contains many carrier proteins that help nutrients like iron and folic acid cross the intestinal wall; (The importance of these carries proteins was recognized approximately 30 years ago, yet few nutritionist or physicians are aware they they exist, possibly because the activity of these carrier proteins is destroyed during pasteurization)
Grass-Fed Meat
Why buy grass-fed meat straight from the farmer?
Farmers raise their livestock in the time honored
small farm tradition. Animals are feed, water and attended to by hand and they are not fed hormones, antibiotics, growth promoter, or sulfites, and there turkeys are not injected with self-basting additives.
Grass fed animals graze organically managed pastures and their manure is returned to the fields in a cycle which replenishes the organic matter in the soil and supports the growth of the natural bacteria that are responsible for mineral cycling. Fields rich in microbial growth resist the effects of drought and erosion, and provide essential nutrient for forage plants. By consuming forage plants, grazing animals return vital minerals, nutrients, and microorganisms to the soil for the next growth cycle.
Without the aid of grazing, essential minerals can be "locked-up" in dead plant material for years, especially in dry climates.
In addition to recycling the manure, most farmers feed their pigs the whey left over from the cheese making process. This whey contain millions of probiotic bacteria, which creates healthy pigs who then need no medication to enhance their growth. As a result, their meat products are much more flavorful, juicy, and helpful than comparable products mass-produced in crowded feedlots.
What About Store Bought Organic Meat?
Organic meat, poultry, and dairy products are now available at most
supermarkets, which is a change for the better. When you buy certified
organic, you know your food will be free of pesticide residues,
synthetic hormones, genetically modified organisms and a long list of
harmless additives that can compromise your health and especially the
digestive tract. You also have the satisfaction of knowing that their
products are eco-friendly.
So what's the big deal? Why is it so important to choose grass-fed when buying meat?
- Perennial grasses are better for soil.
- Grass Fed meat contains 10 times more fat soluble vitamins and CLA than regular grain fed meat.
- Animals that are grass-fed their entire life are healthier — and their meat is safer for you.
- Grass-fed animals produce the right kind of fat.
- The corn fed to feedlot cattle is fossil-fuel intensive and heavily subsidized.
- Perennial pasture reduces flooding and pollution-laden runoff.
- Grazing animals don't need the large quantities of antibiotics that feedlot cattle do.
- Perennial pasture is a carbon sink.
- Modern grazing methods match the efficiencies of industrial-scale grain production.
- Pastured animals are treated more humanely.
- A corn diet can also give a cow acidosis. Unlike that in our own highly acidic stomachs, the normal pH of a rumen is neutral.
Organic
is not enough when it comes to meats. In fact, if I had to choose
between organic animal products and free range grass fed animal
products, I'd choose grass fed every time. Why? The main reason is that
grass fed meats is far nutritionally superior to organic products and
have no side effects for our health.
When a ruminant is taken
off pasture and fattened on artificial grain or soy fed diet, it loses
it's stores of vitamins (especially E), minerals, betacarotene, CLA and
omega-3. It does not matter if the grain is organic or not. Feeding
large amounts of any kind of grain to a grazing animal makes the meat
less beneficial for human consumption.
All the "scientific
studies" are performed on low quality meats and never on organic grass
fed meats, otherwise the outcome would be very different. The reason why
red meat is associate with all kind of diseases is because of the high
content of the bacteria E Coli O157. Ruminants have a digestive tract
made to digest grass NOT grain.
Feeding grain of any kind to a ruminant
dramatically increases the acidity of its digestive tract. This
abnormally acid environment causes the E Coli to drastically multiply
and also to become more acid-resistant.
According to a recent
study published in "The Journal of Science", these altered bacteria are
much more likely to survive the cleansing acidity of your digestive
juices and will make you ill or badly ill. Remember: whatever the animal
eats you will too!
Grass Fed vs. Corn Fed
- Daily Greens and Bugs vs. No Green Material or Bugs
- Fresh Air and Sunshine va. Limited Air and Confinement
- No Drugs vs. Routine Drugs
- Probiotic Ration vs. Antibiotic Ration
- Low Stress vs. High Stress
- No Irradiation vs. FDA Approved Irradiation
- No Chlorine Baths vs. Up to 40 Chlorine Baths
- Fresh, or Fresh Frozen vs. Many Layers of Middlemen
- No Ammonia Toxicity va. Ammonia Toxicity
- Cooking Loss 9% vs. Cooking Loss 20%
- Rich Delicious Taste vs. Poor Flat Taste
- More CLA vs. Practically No CLA
- More Omega-3 Fatty Acids vs. More Omega- Fatty Acids
"The difference between grain-fed and grass-fed animal products is dramatic.
First of all, grass-fed products tend to be much lower in total fat
than grain fed products. For example, a sirloin steak from a grass-fed
steer has about one half to one third the amount of fat as a similar cut
from a grain-fed steer.
In fact, grass fed meat has about the same amount of fat as skinless
chicken or wild deer or elk. When meat is this lean, it actually lowers your LDL cholesterol levels."
A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant
content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef C.A.Daley, K.Harrison, P. Doyle, A. Abbott, G. Nader, S. Larson
California State University, College of Agriculture
University of California Cooperative Extension Service
Note: Sulfites are used in increasing amounts as a food preservatives and enhancers. Sulfites are counted among the top 9 food allergens. In the U.S., labeling regulations do not require products to indicate
the presence of sulfites in foods unless it is added specifically as a
preservative.
Jensen, 1994. Goat Milk Magic: One of Life's Greatest Healing Foods, Escondido, California
Rodriguez, E.M., Sanz Alaejos, M., Diaz Romer, C., 1999. Chemometric Studies of Several Mineral in Milks. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 47:1502-4
Mehaia, M.A., 1989. Studies on Camel and Goat Milk Proteins: Nitrogen Distribution and Amino Acids Composition. Nutrition Reports International, 39 (2):351-357
Haenlien, G.F.W. Goat Management: Lipids and Proteins in Milk, Particularly Goat Milk. Delaware Cooperative Extension http://bluehen.ags.udel.edu/deces/goatmgt/gm-08.htm, and Hinckley, L.S., 1991. Quality Standard for Goat Milk, Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation, 11(9): 511-512 Park, 1991. Journal of Dairy Scienc, 74:3326-3333, and Bowles and Church, 1985, Food Values of Portions Commonly Used
Bishop, et al., 1990. Journal of Pediatric, 116:862-867; Park, 1994. Small Ruminant Research, 14:151-159; and Walker, 1965. British Goat Society Yearbook, 24-26:23-26
Elliot, et al., 1999. Diabetologia, 42(3):292-6 and Karjalaine, et al., 1992. New England Journal of Medicine, 327:302-307
Boor, et al., 1998. Journal of Diary Science, 81:1743-1748; Rodriguez, et al., 1999. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 47:1520-1524; Bishop, et al., 1986. Journal of Diary Science, 69:3002-3004; and Claeys, et al., 2001. Journal of Diary Research, 68:95-107
Salicylism at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
California Dept. of Pub. Health: Food and Drug Branch. Sulfites
Fortin ND. Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy and Practice
John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 288
Zacharkiw, Bill, Montreal Gazette (July 15, 2008). "Can't Hold the sulphites"
Ruth Papazian, Sulfites: Safe for Most, Dangerous for some
